This invention relates to the commercial manufacture of licorice. In commercial production, licorice is extruded in the form of strips about 0.575 inches wide and in lengths, for example, of the order of 54 inches. The licorice is then cut to shorter lengths for sale to the consumer. In some cases the licorice is cut, for example, to 9-inch lengths. In other cases, it is cut into "bites" of 1-inch lengths. The present invention is particularly directed to the production of licorice bites.
Licorice is formed by extruding a mixture of flour, sugar, flavoring and water, and perhaps other ingredients. The flavoring may, for example, be arise, or strawberry, or other suitable flavor. Due largely to the presence of sugar in the licorice mix, the extruded licorice strips tend to be tacky and sticky. As a result, it is difficult to cut a group of 54-inch strips of licorice into 1-inch bites by a multi-blade rotary cutter having cutting edges transverse to the elongated licorice strips since the licorice tends to become lodged in the space between adjacent knives.